The Independent Group

[gordondaviesmoustache]

If you look at the posters on the thread who genuinely believe that people don't vote for rosettes but for people it's a bit embarrassing.

At least 90% of the electorate vote for the party and/or its leader in a general election. It is one of many reasons why our political system is both fundamentally dishonest and broken.

 

[aguero93:20]

I'd agree - you ask most people they will say I voted Corbyn / May / Cameron and so on when clearly that in fact can only happen in each of their constituencies. I just thought Blue Hef's post summed the situation up nicely where he has a good MP but hates the party leader and it seems that - in this thread at least - who / what you vote for is somewhat fluid.

I'd say the people commenting on this thread are less representative. The rosette brigade are largely disengaged with politics completely bar a party affiliation and wouldn't be arsed commenting.

 

[urban genie]

Not sure, I don't know enough about the rules to comment really but won't let that stop me, can't an independent candidate campaign and say similar things about their manifesto to other independents in other constituencies without being recognised as a single group ?

They can, but it is normally on constituency specific issues a lot of independants stand on.
How do they co-ordinate a campaign beyond the 11 if litrature and a common ad campaign isn't established.
Who do they put up other candidates, maybe if they can last till 2022 and others defect to them making them form a party.

If I was may I would be considering a snap GE as labour are getting the main negativity over this and this group haven't go themselves near enough organised to fight one.

 

[Henkeman]

Soubry is an MP of a leave constituency and she was voted in on a Tory ticket, it's almost as if she's being paid by someone else.

She's allowed to go against that and her party and her constituency respectively can judge her on that.

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

You keep saying that, when it is obviously not the case for the majority.

It might be what people want to happen but it is not how it works.

Soubry has seen the writing on the wall from her own constituents, who want her out, so by joining this group
she thinks she may have a semblance of a chance of of keeping her seat. The problem this new independent group has is it comprises
of die hard remainers, if it had a 50/50 ish split, it may appeal across the spectrum, but to alienate the largest part
of the electorate before you've even started, doesn't bode well for its longevity.

The last thing we want is another pro leave party - we have 2. The whole point is to oppose brexit.

Parties can only have one policy on brexit. Tory policy is unpopular, Labour policy is wooly and unpopular. A cear commitment to being Pro Eu is what this group is all about, if they were on the fence like labour the whole thing would be pointless.

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

You are not the Labour party and you don't make up the electorate, anecdotal evidence from one voter doesn't make your argument valid at all.

It does in that she is my MP and i support her. What party she belongs to is a secondary issue.

 

[bluesoup]

Why should I get facts when you only have anecdotal evidence? When Labour band an MP in Stockport she'll be gone.

Hopefully you get the facts you obviously crave for. I’d vote for Ann so that’s one vote in the mix. Cant wait to see Ann keep her seat :)

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

They aren't representing anyone who voted for them right now, they got elected on a Labour ticket and those particular policies.

MP's serve the constituency, not the party and not just the people who voted for them.

 

[Blue Hefner]

But the argument I read on here is that you are voting for the individual not the Labour party ( hence there being no need for the TIG's to call by-elections ) - so he seems to be a proper MP, responds to you directly in a timely fashion. So do we vote for an individual or a party?

I'd suggest a bit of both. Particularly given the platform the main parties are afforded and the support the candidates get - I might not like my MP personally but believe in the Labour Party's wider polices

 

[117 M34]

Do other countries have 3 major parties?

If these took off and became popular - which they may well do as labour and tories are moving further left and right - they could be in a strange position of being nearly always in a coalition government.
If they can get around 15% of seats, that would likely be enough to form a coalition with one of the other 2.